Between Captain and Drone
by borgprincess
Summary: Seven's being stubborn, Janeway has a chat with her. A bit of bonding happens nice, friendly stuff.


**Between Captain and Drone**

The doors hissed open but the blond woman working diligently at the console in the cargo bay ignored the newcomer. She realized that the person, whoever it was, would eventually make themselves known when they required her attention.

A sigh escaped the other, more diminutive, human female in the room.

Classic Seven, the Captain thought. Work til you drop, because of course, the Borg don't know the meaning of relaxation. "I see you've picked up a few bad habits while you've been away."

"Captain?" Seven queried, looking up for the first time since Janeway had entered the room, her tone requesting clarification.

"I specifically recall the Doctor telling you to regenerate. You're disobeying a direct order from the CMO," Janeway informed her.

"I could point out numerous occasions on which you yourself have countermanded or outright disobeyed the Doctor's wishes."

Defensive, Janeway noted. "I'm the Captain. What's your excuse?"

Seven considered it as she returned to her work. "I will comply…after I have completed my analysis." Janeway remained silent, and eventually, Seven went on, "Captain, the Queen told me that since direct attack against the Federation did not succeed, subtler methods would have to be used to assimilate the individuals in the Alpha Quadrant, with a particular emphasis on Earth, and my unique perspective and understanding of humanity would aid them in that endeavour…however, her assessment of my insight into humanity appears to have been flawed."

"How so?"

"I betrayed the crew of Voyager, I threatened you with assimilation- I certainly did not expect you to mount a rescue mission to retrieve me," Seven's voice still contained a trace of surprise at the events.

Janeway inclined her head, "Seems you still have a few things to learn."

"Apparently."

"Seven, I sensed there was something you were holding back before, when you were so vehement about being included on the away mission- and I'm getting that feeling now," Janeway's voice became severe, "I won't make the same mistake again, of not finding out exactly what's troubling you: now tell me, what's on your mind?"

Seven shrugged, "It is nothing of paramount importance…however, I admit to curiosity as to your motives for rescuing me. You were in a dangerous position; more lives could have been lost to the Borg- for only one individual. I have witnessed your determination before to risk the lives of the entire crew- or in this situation, four lives- for an outcome that is unlikely to transpire," Seven halted her monologue to consider a suitable phrase,

"'All for one and one for all', I believe is an appropriate human expression to apply to your attitude. Logic would suggest that, with all the variables that would occur in such an endeavour, the fact that it was the Borg you were up against and that the odds were greatly against your successful completion of your mission, such an effort would be futile. Yet you attempted it regardless."

"And succeeded," Janeway pointed out. "It's a human thing we like to call 'hope'. It gives us the courage to try, the drive and determination to succeed and the audacity to snatch you from right under the Borg Queen's nose."

"The Queen encouraged me to give up human emotions…she told me they were weak, that they detracted from perfection."

Janeway made an expression of disgust. "I certainly hope you're not buying into that. The Borg would hardly have gone out of their way to rescue one single drone. It would have been irrelevant. The Queen personally destroyed millions just to make a point. But you weren't expendable to us. It's because of our ability to feel emotions such as affection, loss and hope, and even fear, that we even considered rescuing you, and were successful in planning and executing that rescue effort."

Seven said softly, with emphasis, "If your mission had failed, you could have been killed, or worse, assimilated. That, in turn, would have left Voyager vulnerable to Borg attacks in the future once your knowledge became part of the Collective. Yet you chose to take that risk- for me."

Janeway shook her head, voice roughening "I couldn't just leave you there."

"Your efforts were misguided," Seven said harshly, openly agitated now.

"Much as my parents' own. I have been witnessing several parallels between their fascination with the Borg and your obsession with them. I have been experiencing…déjà vu, I believe is the term. After going through their diaries, when I came on the bridge, it was as though I was hearing my mother again; you were echoing her very words- "Match their course and speed…keep a distance-" she broke off, struggling with her emotions.

Janeway held her hands up in surrender. "As I said before, Seven, if I had known the impact reading those diaries had on you before, I wouldn't have pushed you to do so, but…"

"Your guilt is irrelevant-" Seven flinched at the Borg view, "No, no it is not irrelevant, but…unnecessary," her analytical mind sharpened, recalling a particular moment on board the Borg vessel. "It is curious. There were parallels between your words and the Borg Queen's as well."

"I beg your pardon? Please don't insult me, Seven," Janeway told her.

"That was not my intention. I believe she was attempting to disorient me by using your own words, that she was perhaps pushing me too quickly," the ex-drone was lost in memory now. "It is confusing, Captain. When I was a drone, all that was Borg was familiar, even comforting. On a particular occasion when I and three other members of my Unimatrix were the only survivors after our vessel crashed, I was so terrified of dying alone that I created an interlink to prevent them from escaping the Collective. But when I was back with the Collective just recently, all that they were was- repugnant to me. There was no common ground between their ideals and my own. I saw drones and I felt pity for them," she looked at Janeway in confusion. "The Queen called me an automaton, parroting human fallacies, when I told her I was an individual, yet that was what the drones were, by their very definition, automatons. And when I witnessed assimilation…" a haunted look appeared on Seven's face, "it was horrifying. She told me that she was delivering the people from chaos into perfection and that- angered me."

"It's a shame that most of the emotions you experience are the negative ones. They help you to grow, indeed, but guilt, remorse, shame, anger, the desire for revenge…it can't be giving you a very good impression of how it feels to be human."

"Your summary is not accurate," Seven disagreed. "I have experienced pride in my accomplishments, something that the Borg did not encourage. Once a task was successfully completed, the drone would simply move onto the next. And feeling part of a Collective without the intrusiveness, the sense of family without being there with everyone at every given moment, it is reassuring, but the privacy has become enjoyable. I have also experienced pleasure on the occasions when we play Velocity and I defeat you. Working in Astrometrics is rewarding, and learning of the existence and corresponding with my distant cousins definitely more so."

"Well, I'm happy you're happy. Sometimes I wondered, briefly, whether separating you from the Borg was appropriate. It was the right thing to do, for me, because my moral sense said that everything about the Borg is wrong, yet for you…taking you from everything you knew…" a shadow passed over the Captain's face for a moment, but then it cleared. "I've counted my blessings every time that faint dread of having done wrong is proved wrong. Though sometimes, what with your 'unique way of doing things' I have to wonder at the sanity of my actions…"

"Captain? You are not feeling-"

"No, Seven, I was just joking," the woman reassured her. "You definitely need to live as a human longer before you understand humour, and what frequently masquerades as it from certain members of the crew who will not be mentioned-"

"Lieutenant Paris."

Janeway sighed. "Discretion. That's another thing to be learnt as well…All right, enough stalling, young lady," her voice rang with authority. "You are going to regenerate."

As had become the norm with conversations between the two, Seven challenged her, "How long has it been since you have slept?"

"Don't change the subject with me," Janeway warned her.

"Later."

"Now."

Seven studied Janeway's uncompromising face. Janeway returned the assessing stare calmly. A long moment later, the younger woman nodded.

"I will comply."

She suited words to action, shutting down what she had been working on before running a quick diagnostic on the alcove to ensure it was operating at maximum efficiency, and then standing ready for the regeneration cycle to take over. Her eyes closed.

Janeway, who had stepped up beside Seven, watched her for a moment, quiet and peacefully regenerating. She murmured softly, "Sweet dreams," and then left.

The doors hissed shut behind her, enclosing the silent room.


End file.
